Liberty hosts Pierre and Jacksonville State

By Canadian Press on February 26, 2025.

Jacksonville State Gamecocks (19-9, 11-4 CUSA) at Liberty Flames (22-5, 10-4 CUSA)

Lynchburg, Virginia; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Jacksonville State faces Liberty after Jaron Pierre Jr. scored 23 points in Jacksonville State’s 73-65 win over the UTEP Miners.

The Flames have gone 11-2 in home games. Liberty is the top team in the CUSA in team defense, giving up 61.1 points while holding opponents to 39.7% shooting.

The Gamecocks are 11-4 against CUSA opponents. Jacksonville State ranks fourth in the CUSA shooting 35.7% from 3-point range.

Liberty averages 75.8 points, 7.3 more per game than the 68.5 Jacksonville State allows. Jacksonville State scores 13.9 more points per game (75.0) than Liberty allows (61.1).

TOP PERFORMERS: Zach Cleveland is averaging 10.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists for the Flames. Taelon Peter is averaging 16.0 points over the last 10 games.

Pierre is averaging 22.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists for the Gamecocks. Koree Cotton is averaging 1.5 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Flames: 8-2, averaging 69.6 points, 27.0 rebounds, 15.3 assists, 5.9 steals and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting 47.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 61.3 points per game.

Gamecocks: 8-2, averaging 69.9 points, 31.9 rebounds, 9.9 assists, 6.1 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 43.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 65.9 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press